Purdue to allow 'God's physical laws' on donor's plaque

10:24 PM,
Mar. 5, 2014

The Ray W. Herrick Laboratories at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.

Written by

Hayleigh Colombo
hcolombo@jconline.com

Purdue University has decided to allow a donor to reference "God's physical laws" on a plaque recognizing the alumnus' donation to the university.

The West Lafayette university will avoid a First Amendment fight between itself and engineering graduate Michael McCracken, who alleged that Purdue was violating his rights by not allowing him to reference God on a plaque commemorating his parents. The plaque was offered after McCracken made a $12,500 donation to the university in 2012.

The argument came to a head last week when Purdue's legal counsel, Steve Schultz, said Purdue's status as a ...